Francis Fessenden was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier from the state of Maine who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
22 Facts About Francis Fessenden
2.
Francis Fessenden was a member of the powerful Fessenden family, which was prominent in national politics during the mid-19th century.
3.
Francis Fessenden was born in Portland, Maine, in the spring of 1839.
4.
Francis Fessenden was the son of US Senator William P Fessenden and a brother of James Deering Fessenden, who would serve as a general in the Union army.
5.
Francis Fessenden was educated in the local schools and then graduated from Bowdoin College in 1858.
6.
Francis Fessenden studied law at the Harvard Law School, passed his bar exam, and joined his father's law firm.
7.
Francis Fessenden spent much of the year as a recruiting officer, helping raise additional troops.
8.
Francis Fessenden became the colonel of the 25th Maine Infantry and commanded a brigade as part of the 22nd Army Corps in the defenses of Washington, DC Francis Fessenden was married that year to Ellen Winslow, a daughter of Edward Fox of Portland.
9.
Francis Fessenden saw action in several battles in that campaign, including Sabine Crossroads, Pleasant Hill, and Monet's Ferry, where he led a major assault in which he suffered a severe leg wound that necessitated amputation.
10.
Francis Fessenden served on the military commission that oversaw the war crimes trial of Henry Wirz, who was executed for his controversial actions while commanding the Andersonville Prison in Georgia.
11.
Francis Fessenden served as the president of a military court of inquiry.
12.
Francis Fessenden was promoted to major general of volunteers on November 19,1865, and assigned command of the 1st Division of the Department of West Virginia.
13.
Francis Fessenden was assigned to the 1st Veteran Corps.
14.
Francis Fessenden served in the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands in 1866.
15.
Francis Fessenden declined an appointment as the lieutenant colonel of the 45th US Infantry in August 1866.
16.
Francis Fessenden retired from the Regular Army on November 1,1866, with the rank of brigadier general.
17.
Francis Fessenden then returned home to Portland and resumed his legal career.
18.
Francis Fessenden was elected as the city's mayor in 1876.
19.
Francis Fessenden wrote a biography of his father, The Life and Services of William Pitt Fessenden, which was published in 1907.
20.
Francis Fessenden was a Companion of the First Class of the Maine Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States - a military society for officers who has served the Union during the Civil War.
21.
Francis Fessenden was a member of the General Society of Colonial Wars.
22.
Francis Fessenden died in Portland, where he is buried in Evergreen Cemetery.